The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1887-03-10
Wasllinetor. H.e1ser.
From our regular correspondent

WASHINGTON, March THE Forty
Ninth Congress has passed into histo-
ry 1t leaves q record which com
pares most favorably with that Of any
Congress Of recent years, and surpass.
es that Of almost every Congress
which was divided by the two great
political parties two hostile camps.
1t afforded u striking example, too,
Of the constant increase in the volume
of desired legislation which has been
going on for the last six or eight years.
More bills were introduced in both
Houses of the Forty-Ninth, more com
mittee reports were made, more bills
were passed, more became laws and
more were vetoed than ever before by
any Congress,
There were introduced into the
House during the two sessions II ,25S
bills and 263 joint resolutions, on
which over 5000 reports were made.
This was several Thousand more bills
and over thousand more reports
than were made by the Forty-E Eighth
Congress, which had, in its turn beat
en- the record. In the Senate there
were introduced ever 5000 bills on
which nearly two thousand written
reports were made, being upward Of
500 more bills than by the record
breaking Forty-Eighth. The death
roll also OF the last Congress was usu-
ally long, comprising thirteen names.
The total number of laws enacted
was about 1890, while 132 were vetoed
by the President, making twenty-one
more instances of the exercise OF the
Presidential prerogative Of veto than
had occurred from the foundation OF
the Government down to the begin
ming Of the present Congress. Only
one private pension job and one pub
lie bill, namely that providing for a
Government building at Dayton, o..
succeeded in passing both houses ovel
the Presidents veto.
Congress was in session the whole
night preceding the day of adjourn.
ment. The House, with usual peril
nacity, sat continuously from eight
o'clock Thursday night until Friday
noon, the hour at which the session
expired The usual scenes of las
night were enacted. The Capitol wa'
filled with people who wanted to SCI
the close, but only a small portion o
whom could gain admittance to thu
already crowded galleries
Congress reverses the usual circum
stances which associate themseIve
with a death scene. 1t does ava,
with all solemnity and quiet, decorou
hush and suppression OF noise. PEG
pie who want to witness the most riot
Gus scenes Of which Representative
body can be guilty, have only to Grove
the galleries during the dying hour
Of Congress. If they want to see mel
of reputed dignity in undignified an
tics, they will not be disappointed 70
there is license then which at othe
times is not INDUCED. Never sine
, Congress had an existence has Their
been such confusion, haste and genel
al disregard OF parliamentary safe
guards in the transaction OF business
as characterized the proceedings c
Thursday, Thursday night and Frida
morning
When it was rumored, about moo
on Friday, that the President was o
his way to the Capitol at the requel
of Speaker Calisle, who informed hil
!, that certain scarcely finished bill
could be saved from death in no othe
!, way, the crowd in the Capitol bega
to surge toward the Senate wing, til
Presidents room being in that end
! the Capitol The result was that til
= police force had more than it could
=, to control the swaying mass OF human
ity that wanted to see the Presiden
Congressman, also, with varying SUI
: cess, made vigorous efforts to squeei
. their way through the crowd to il
: qnire If the arbiter of the destiny
: certain bills in which they were i
! terested had arrived,
He came with several members
: his Cabinet, repaired to his room al
' settled down to business. But Il
clock now pointed to IL There w
limit to the speed and endurance
! clerical fingers, and the tagged out e
. rolling clerks who had been running
= race with time won only in the ca
. Of the District Appropriation bill, al
: this was due to that venerable office
- Capt. Bassett, who armed himself wi
- a gas-lighter and Gas he has done
= ennially for quarter of centur
: mounted chair and pull
: back the hands of the Sena
n clock. The President signed tt
n promptly, bat the hands of the clio,
q crept up to twelve again before the D
w !